Tom Titus
Many of the productions on the 2005-06 schedule of the Orange County
Performing Arts Center have quite a few miles on their odometers, but
the new season promises a "Wicked" finale with a highly touted new
show inspired by a classic 1939 movie musical.
"So much happened before Dorothy dropped in" is the catch line for
the advance publicity of "Wicked," billed as the "untold story of the
witches of Oz" and ticketed for an Aug. 9 to 20 engagement in 2006.
The winner of three Tony awards, as well as a Grammy, it is based, of
course, on characters from "The Wizard of Oz" and focuses on the
early adventures of Glinda the Good Witch and her evil counterpart,
the green-hued Wicked Witch of the West.
The new season will open this October with the Tim Rice-Andrew
Lloyd Webber blockbuster "Evita," tracing the rise and fall of Eva
Peron, first lady of Argentina in the early 1950s. Those who saw the
terrific Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts version
earlier this year will want to compare that show to the touring
production, which will be in Costa Mesa from Oct. 4 to 16.
Julie Andrews got her start back in the early '50s with Sandy
Wilson's romantic spoof of 1920s musicals, "The Boy Friend," a
performance that propelled her into "My Fair Lady." Now Andrews is in
the director's chair for a revival of "The Boy Friend," playing at
the Center from Dec. 20 through New Year's Day.
The newest, and most unfamiliar, show of the Center's season is
"Bombay Dreams," described as a "dazzling spectacle set amid India's
bustling film industry." This splashy production with lavish sets and
exotic dance numbers arrives Feb. 21 and will play through March 5.
Remember "Doctor Doolittle?" Not the Eddie Murphy version, but the
oldie with Rex Harrison? This musical fantasy by Anthony Newley and
Leslie Bricusse about a veterinarian who can "talk to the animals"
will be in town from March 21 through April 2 with the animal designs
created by Michael Curry -- who did the beasts for "The Lion King."
Another Rice-Webber musical from their earlier days -- which has
been getting quite a bit of play on local stages lately -- is "Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."
The Biblically inspired saga will be back at the Center with
Broadway star Patrick Cassidy in the title role and "American Idol"
songstress Amy Adams as the narrator. It'll run from July 11 to 23,
2006.
The Center also has announced a series of six productions for
young people, leading off with "Trout Fishing in America," Oct. 14 to
